- How frustrated are you when they just can’t see your point of view (& vice versa)?
- Are your business relationships suffering?
- Just where is the other person coming from?
The key to success here is to try out another perspective. When a person in Northern Europe and a person in Africa look at the moon, they are gazing at the same entity, however, they are not seeing exactly the same thing. The angle of their view is very different. Same object, different perspective.
If you’ve ever argued or felt frustrated that a colleague, friend or partner just cannot hear what you are saying and are seemingly refusing to understand where you are coming from, (even though, of course, it’s so obvious that you are right!) it can be helpful to remember the following.
The fact is, they think they are right too. And from where they are standing, they truly are. Even though you are tackling what you both think is exactly the same issue, you are seeing it from very individual points of view.
We all have our own maps of the world, accurate in our own eyes and viewed through a filter shaped over the years from our own experiences, values and beliefs. Neither of you are wholly right or wrong. The trick in communication is to try and view the situation from the others’ point of view. Only when you have this understanding of what their perspective is and why they have it, can you find a way forward.
You don’t have to agree, but clarity and results will be reached much faster with a little bit of insight into their world. Plus of course, you will have the advantage of seeing the whole picture. That can only be a good thing.